Although people don’t know, Germany helped a lot the sedimentation of Death Metal in the 90s due to the success of “Cursed” (the first album of MORGOTH that established the band as a cult into the genre), “Hallucinations” and “Todessehnsucht” (of ATROCITY, a band that were extremely respected back then). This ‘load’ of influences on German Death Metal DNA is what moves the Death Metal underground scene of the country, and what pulses on “Embalmed in Decay”, the new CARNAL TOMB’s album.

It can be said that the quartet works on a classic/Old School Death Metal traits with resemblances of what was done between the years 1989 and 1995. But they have some traits inherited from USA Death Metal (from bands as IMMOLATION and CANNIBAL CORPSE due the bass playing, especially heard on “Cataclysmic Maze”) and UK Death Metal (it’s clear to have some traces of acts as NAPALM DEATH on their Death Metal days, BOLT THROWER and BENEDICTION as well), and all tempered and sharpened by their own personality. It’s brutal and oppressive, nasty and crude as Death Metal fans usually love to hear, but with a personality roaring on their harmonic structures. And it’s good, indeed, for it keeps the flame of the old days alive as well.

The studio works were assisted by Tobias Engl (recording, mixing) and Sverker Widgren (mastering), and the guarantee the sonority of “Embalmed in Decay” is what an Old School Death Metal fan can ask for: brutal, crude and aggressive to its bones. But hold your horses: it’s defined and one can understand clearly what’s being expressed by the quartet. And the cover created by Skaðvaldur (artwork, layout) brings to the mind the works on the genre during the golden age between of the first half of the 90s. and as guests, here are Serkan Niron (of ENGULFED) on the additional vocals on “Draped in Disgust”, and Leonhard Link (of PUTRESCINE, SPEEDWHOE) on the synthesizers of the additional intros.

All the songs are fine examples of what Old School Death Metal stands for, done with personality. One can say that “The Putridarium” (a noisy and bitter song with aggressive approach and a strong presence of bass guitar and drums both on the rhythms as on the weighty approach of the song), “Cataclysmic Maze” (again a technical playing on bass guitar and drums can be heard, but on such slow approach, the guitars shows a fine and good work on the riffs and sickening solos), “Defiled Flesh” (a classical fast Death Metal song filled with brutal hooks and some Hardcore elements), “Draped in Disgust” (the disgusting and oppressive ambience created by slow tempos is really amazing, and pierced by the grunts of the vocals), “Embalmed in Decay” (a true Death Metal rampage on the ears, with contrasts between some classical faster moments with bitter oppressive slow ones), and “Eyes of the Chasm” are the right ones for an introduction for the quartet’s music, but the album is good as a unity.

“Embalmed in Decay” is a fine piece of Old School Death Metal, but CARNAL TOMB has more to offer than is shown on it.